NEW SHARON – From all accounts, it appears that voters will have a lot to talk about at Saturday’s annual town meeting.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. March 1, at the Cape Cod Hill School with the election of a meeting moderator and town officials from the floor.

Town Clerk Rose Mary Eller said that she is up for re-election as town clerk and tax collector, as well as Selectmen Jim Smith, Maynard Webster and Russell Gardner, Treasurer Miriam Smith and Road Commissioner Donald Lowe.

Eller said that several people have said they plan to run against the selectmen and road commissioner.

Voters annually elect town officials from the floor but that could change in 2009 if an article to stagger the terms is approved on Saturday.

Selectmen Chairman Smith said that the idea to stagger selectmen’s terms has been brought up before with some people saying that the whole board could either quit or not be elected and the town would be left without anyone with experience.

Smith said when it was first discussed he was opposed to the idea but now sees that it is a good idea.

Voters will be asked if they want to change board members’ terms from one year to three years. If it is approved, it would become effective in 2009, with one selectman elected for a one-year term, one for a two-year term and one for a three-year term with all elections after that for three-year terms.

Voters will also be asked to consider authorizing selectmen to investigate the cost and feasibility of replacing the so-called Muddy Brook Bridge on Main Street with a new bridge. The Maine Department of Transportation closed the bridge in March 2007 deeming it unsafe for travel.

It is estimated to cost $600,000 or more to replace the 145-foot span, Smith said.

The board just wants to see what townspeople want to do about the bridge, Smith said.

“I think it’s really beyond what the town can afford to do but it will give a chance for people to voice their opinions,” Smith said.

Another question voters will consider is if they want selectmen to investigate cost and feasibility of constructing a new town road to extend Main Street to Route 2. After the bridge was closed, it left a dead-end limiting access to Route 2.

Selectmen have estimated that the cost of that to be about $100,000.

“We’ve had a lot of people that live on Main Street say they’d just as soon have it closed because of (speeding vehicles) but we’ll be able to get a feel for what people want to do,” Smith said.

Townspeople will also consider buying a snowblower to clear snow from sidewalks on the state-owned bridge over Route 2.

Selectman Russell Gardner said a study was conducted this season to see what the cost would be after other options failed. Gardner has used his snowblower to clear the sidewalks this winter.

Selectmen estimate it would cost about $4,250 to buy a snowblower, a safety vest, spare belts and gas, plus labor for a town employee to do the work.

People would like to walk safely to the other side of the bridge since the state closed down a steel bridge years ago that allowed pedestrians and others to safely cross from one side of town to the other without going on Route 2, Gardner said.